Christopher R. Green

On the interaction of velar fronting and labial harmony

This article documents the typological occurrence and interactions of two seemingly independent error patterns, namely Velar Fronting and Labial Harmony, in a cross-sectional investigation of the sound systems of 235 children with phonological delays (ages 3;0 to 7;9). The results revealed that the occurrence of Labial Harmony depends on the occurrence of Velar Fronting, and that, when these processes co-occurred, all three predicted types of interactions were attested. A constrained version of Optimality Theory is put forward that offers a unified explanation for the implicational relationship between these error patterns and their observed interactions. The findings are compared with the results from other studies and are considered for their theoretical and clinical implications.

On the anatomy of a chain shift

Phonological chain shifts have been the focus of many theoretical, developmental, and clinical concerns. This paper considers an overlooked property of the problem by focusing on the typological properties of the widely attested s > θ > f chain shift involving the processes of Labialization and Dentalization in early phonological development. Findings are reported from a cross-sectional study of 234 children (ages 3 years; 0 months-7;9) with functional (nonorganic) phonological delays. The results reveal some unexpected gaps in the predicted interactions of these processes and are brought to bear on the evaluation of recent optimality theoretic proposals for the characterization of phonological interactions. A developmental modification to the theory is proposed that has the desired effect of precluding certain early-stage grammars. The proposal is further evaluated against the facts of another widely cited developmental chain shift known as the puzzle > puddle > pickle problem (Smith 1973).

On the interaction of deaffrication and consonant harmony

Error patterns in childrens phonological development are often described as simplifying processes that can interact with one another with different consequences. Some interactions limit the applicability of an error pattern, and others extend it to more words. Theories predict that error patterns interact to their full potential. While specific interactions have been documented for certain pairs of processes, no developmental study has shown that the range of typologically predicted interactions occurs for those processes. To determine whether this anomaly is an accidental gap or a systematic peculiarity of particular error patterns, two commonly occurring processes were considered, namely Deaffrication and Consonant Harmony. Results are reported from a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of twelve children (age 3 ; 0-5 ; 0) with functional phonological delays. Three interaction types were attested to varying degrees. The longitudinal results further instantiated the typology and revealed a characteristic trajectory of change. Implications of these findings are explored.